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STAR Technique of Storytelling

This tip is from my old blog — probably my most visited blog post from the old days. When I was a business school student at Georgia State one of the most valuable classes I took was Human Resources Selection, taught by Prof. Todd Maurer. Dr. Maurer put together two separate lessons and combined them into a lesson on how to prepare for a job interview.

Employers (or, the good ones, at least) look for candidates who have relevant experience. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before. The keyword here is “relevant.” What if you don’t have experience exactly like the job you’re applying for? Look at your own accomplishments from your past that have some relevance to the job.

There are six qualities of a job applicant that employers seek: achievement, conscientiousness, teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem solving ability. Even when employers are not explicitly seeking those things, that’s ultimately what they’re looking for. As an applicant, you can demonstrate those qualities through a storytelling technique, called the STAR Technique. Frame the story and tell it in this order:

Situation or Task: Explains the context

Action: Describes what you did

Result: Describes the outcome of what you did

“I was assigned to complete this task, which was a particular challenge for me. So here is a creative thing I did to complete the task. As a result, the company saw this awesome result.”

It’s simple and straightforward. For every question (or nearly every question) you are asked in an interview, offer your answer in the form of the STAR Technique. But make sure to have some stories prepared that address at least one of the qualities that employers are looking for. Below, I have some some questions that will help you break the ice. If you can answer at least one question for each quality, you will walk into your next job interview with confidence:

On Achievement

Tell me about a time when you were primarily responsible for completing an important task, project or assignment.

Describe a time when you went “above and beyond the call of duty” in order to get something accomplished.

On Conscientiousness:

Describe a project or task on which you had to work extra hard to deliver the work on time and with high quality or accuracy.

Describe a time when you were working on something and you realized that there was an error in the work which had a potentially serious implication.

On Teamwork:

Describe a time when you had to work closely with other people in order to complete a project or task. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

Tell me about a time when you needed to work with others in order to complete a project or task, and you did not get along with another person or people. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

On Communication:

Tell me about a time when you had to explain a complicated issue to another person or group of people. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

Describe a time when you had to formally present information to a group of people. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

On Leadership:

Tell me about a time when you had to persuade others to work together in pursuit of a common cause or objective. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

Tell me about a time when you guided others toward achieving a goal. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

On Problem Solving:

Describe a situation where there were several options for handling a particular situation or problem and describe how you went about choosing an alternative. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

Tell me about a time when you were faced with a difficult decision and describe how it turned out. Describe the situation, your actions and the results of your actions.

Final tip: If you find yourself wanting for stories, get involved with a Meetup group, art collective, or nonprofit where you have opportunities to contribute to helping the organization achieve its mission.